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Regulators have revoked the license of an Ontario dentist after Global News public he practiced under a name he adopted after his conviction for helping Iran evade sanctions.
Dr. Aurash Cohen according to the province, no longer has the right to practice in the province Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontariowhich said it canceled its certification on November 20.
A spokeswoman for the college said she could not provide details about cases.
But she said dentists seeking certification are “required to disclose their history of criminal conduct, in any jurisdiction, on their application for registration in Ontario.”
“The application form is a statutory attestation – dentists are required to declare the accuracy of the content of their application when it is submitted,” Lesley Byrne said in a statement.
The decision came six weeks after Global News reported that “Dr. Cohen” was, in fact, Arash Yousefijaman Ontario resident who pleaded guilty in 2021 to running an Iran sanctions evasion scheme.
Together with his brother Amin YousefijamHe exported sensitive manufacturing equipment to Iran. The Yousefijams pleaded guilty in the US to charges of sanctions evasion, and were sentenced to time served.
The US then brought them back to Canada, where they used the Ontario name change system to become Aurash and Ameen Cohen.
Under their assumed identities, Aurash Cohen graduated from McGill University and became a dentist in June, while Ameen Cohen was hired as a corporate compliance officer.
Immigration and Refugee Board
But their plan unraveled when immigration officials launched deportation proceedings against Amin Yousefijam, an Iranian citizen who entered Canada under the Skilled Workers Program.
The Canada Border Services Agency revealed the brothers’ name changes in hundreds of pages of documents entered as exhibits at the Immigration and Refugee Board.
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A hearing that will decide whether to deport Amin Yousefijam is scheduled to begin in Toronto on February 25. The CBSA is arguing the resident of Richmond Hill, Ont. is a danger to the security of Canada.
Amin Yousefijam undermined efforts to contain the Iranian regime, contributing to “an increased security threat to Canada related to terrorism and nuclear attack,” the CBSA wrote in a report.
“Mr. Yousefijam’s activities directly compromised the efforts of the Canadian government with respect to its foreign policy objectives against Iran,” according to the CBSA’s report.
Arash Yousefijam is a naturalized Canadian citizen and therefore cannot be deported. He did not respond to an email seeking comment, but in an earlier reply he said he had “paid his dues.”
The dental college said those applying to practice in Ontario are required to demonstrate that their past and present conduct gives confidence that they will do their job “with decency, integrity and honesty and in accordance with the law,” it said Byrne.
“The registration regulations also provide that an applicant is deemed not to have met the requirements for the issuance of a certificate of registration if the applicant has made a false or misleading statement or representation regarding their application.”
The Ontario government said it sought to reform its policy on name changes to ensure that those convicted of violations of international sanctions and other serious crimes cannot hide from their past.
Iran is a major source of instability in the Middle East. It leads a so-called “axis of resistance” that includes Hezbollah, Yemen’s Houthis and Hamas, which carried out the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
At the same time, the Iranian regime has been linked to several recent assassination plots targeting dissidents living abroad, such as Irwin Cotler, a former Liberal MP and outspoken critic of the Islamic Republic.
& copy 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
